Dowel-feeding machine.



E. GURRAN.

V DOWEL FEEDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED Hum, 1913.

1,1 32,533. I Patented Mar. 16, 1915.

z; A 4 a9 l THE NORRIS PETERS 60.. PHOTO-LITHOU WASHINGTON. B4 c.

' EDMUND CURRAN', OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO JESSE T..FULLER,

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

' DOWEL-FEEDING MACHINE.

Application filed Febriiary 8,1913. Seria1No.747,032. 1

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, EDMUND CURRAN, a

I citizen of the United States, and resident of Boston, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Dowelel eeding Machines, of which the fol- V lowing description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to machines for handlingvdowels, and more particularly is an improvement in the hopper mechanism and feeding apparatus of such machines. 'lhis type of machine is shown in U. S. Patent N 0. 891,731, wherein wooden dowels or handles are automatically separted and fed into a machine for inserting wires in such handles.

In this type of machine as heretofore usually made, the feeding mechanism comprised a hopper, into which a large number of dowels were placed, and means were provided to feed such dowels on handles sidewise or. broadside upwardly to a stack in which the dowels were piled by gravity and from the bottom of which stack they were taken one at a time and the wires automatically alfixed. Such prior constructions, however, were found to be unsatisfactory as-great difliculty was experienced in feeding the dowels sidewise and in. depending upon gravity to fill the stack. A further diflicultywith' some of these prior constructions consisted in the arrangement of the dowel feeding means which was con-,

tinuously acting and which forced such 7 dowels across theopening in the stack after said opening was filled so that a dowel could not drop into the stack, the feeding action forced these dowels beyond the stack and back into the hopper.

not drop into the stack while being forced across the open end thereof, and therefore such machine would fail entirely of sue-- This caused the dowels to become wedged so that often they would to be fed in the stack from which they are subsequently removedby the machine for the wiring operation.

A further object of my invention is to provlde feeding means which will actuate these dowels yieldingly and which will force the same into the stack, and which will thusact positively throughout the entire feeding operation from the hopper to the wiring mechanism and eliminate the uncertainties and difficulties of depending upon a gravity feed.

Sometimes an imperfect dowel or handle" is dumped into the hopper andheretofore no means has been provided to prevent such imperfect handle from being fed forwardly into the stack and onwardly to the wiring mechanism, and therefore 1 have provided;

means which will tend to prevent any imperfect dowel-from being fed out of the hopper, but itwill be caught therein where it can be readilyremoved by the attendant.

In the preferredform ofmy invention I provide a hopper arranged to throw. the dowels into a lowermost portion from which the dowels are successively and individually moved by yielding devices and in an endwise or longitudinal directiononly, around a groove or channel to an upper portion ofthe hopper, where they are forced through a channel or tube to the adjacent stack, and when positioned over or infsaid stack I again provide yielding means to force the same out of the line in which they have been moved to the stack and downwardly to keep said stack full. i I

Other details of construction, novel combinations of parts and features of the in-" vention will be hereinafter set vforth and claimed Referring to the drawings, wherein a pre 5 i ferred embodiment of my invention is illustrated, Figure l is a view partly in cross secion of myimproved dowel feeding mechanism; Fig. 2 is a plan viewof the hopper,

together with the yielding feeding apparatiis; and Fig. 3 is a view partly in cross sect on of the dowels when in the stack.

As the wiring mechanism forms no part of my invention, but may be similar to that of the patentabove mentioned, or of any other well known construction, I have not illustrated a wiring machine,.but such wir ing mechanism would be arranged adjacent to the bottom of the stack in any convenient manner.

To support and rotate the feeding mechanism, a base 1 carrying an upstanding bracket 2 having a horizontal flange 3 is provided, which flange is arranged at an angle with the base 1, and on which flange rests the hopper l. The hopper may be secured in any manner to the flange 3, screws 5 and 6 being herein illustrated for this purpose. T he bracket 2 is also provided with a journal bearing 7 formed perpendicularly to the face of the flange 3 and carrying a shaft 8 which projects loosely through a central aperture in the bottom of the hopper 4, and carries on its upper end Within the hopper 1 a plate 9, which plate is rigidly secured thereto between a washer 10 and nut 11.

The washer 10 is preferably of sufficient thickness so that as it rests upon the bottom of the hopper 4:, the plate 9 will be held above the bottom at a less distance than the thickness of the dowels to be fed. he hopper 1 is also formed with its bottom portion circular, and the plate 9 is also in circular form with its diameter sufficiently short of that of the bottom of the hopper so as to allow a dowel to be handled by the machine to fit loosely and easily between the periphcry of the circular plate 9, and the side walls of the hopper.

Dowels of different diameters can be handled in the same apparatus by shifting the plate 9, for one of different diameter, thus affording a greater or less distance between the periphery of such plates and the side walls of the hopper. Underneath the plate 9 are pivoted a plurality of arms 12, pref erably four, which have one end projecting outwardly into the space or channel formed between the periphery of the plate 9, and the wallsof the hopper, and have their other ends acted upon by coiled springs 13 to hold the inner ends of these arms 12 in engagement with stops 1% as shown in Fig. 2. This arrangement permits the outer portions of the arms 12 to project beyond the periphery of the plate 9, and on rotation of said plate 9 in the direction of the arrow Fig. 2, to contact with any dowel which may roll into the channel between the periphery of the plate and the walls of the hopper at the lowermost portion of the hopper, and force the same along as clearly shown in Fig.2. Should any dowel meet with an obstruction, or should the stack to which the dowels are forced be full, the springs 13 will permit the arms 12 to be swung backwardly within the periphery of the plate 9 during the continued rotation of said plate.

At the uppermost portion of the hopper I provide a depressed channel or groove 15, into which the dowels 16 are forced in lengthwise or end to end formation, this groove leading into the tube 17 from which the dowels are conducted out of the hopper and to the top of a stack 18, as shown in Fig. 3. One wall of the stack 18 is preferably formed of sufficient height, as indicated at 19, to act as a stop for the onward movement of the dowel 16, and when the tube 17 and channel 15 are full, the continued rotation of the plate 9 and its feeding action through the arms 12 serve to continually press the line of dowels yieldingly onward to the stack, the springs 13 permitting the arms 12 to be swung backwardly ontheir pivots, so as not to interfere with continued rotation of the plate 9. In order to rotate the plate 9, I provide the lower end of the shaft '8 with a beveled wheel 20, which in turn is actuated by a beveled wheel 21, carried on a shaft 22, supported in suitable brackets 23, mounted on the base 1, and actuated by any source of power (not shown).

in order to provide positive means for actuating the dowels in the stack 18, l mount on a bracket 24 secured to the stack, a lever 25 pivoted thereto at 26 and carrying at one end a flange 27 to which is pivoted a short tapper 28 overhanging the stack, and in line with the top dowel 16. At the other end of the arm 25 is pivoted a link 29, extending downwardly to a collar 30, positioned about the shaft 22 and carrying a cam roll 31 on its lowermost end arranged to be actuated by a cam 32 keyed to said shaft 22. A. contractile spring 33 secured at one end to the bracket 24: and at its other end to the lever 25, acts to hold the cam roll 31 in engagement with the cam 32 and when said cam releases the cam roll, pulls the tapper 28 downwardly and yieldingly into contact with the topmost dowel in the stack. It may be desired to thrown the tapper out of engagement, and if so, 1 provide means for accomplishing this purpose by having a stop 34 aff xed to the flange 27 adjacent the pivoted member 28, and the member 28 may be swung upward and around until resting upon said stop when it will be out of engagement.

In order to provide means which will prevent an imperfect dowel from being fed to the wiring mechanism, 1 may provide one or more stops to catch such imperfect dowels. It will be understood that the dowels 16 when prepared for the wiring operation, have their opposite ends rounded slightly and are bored axially for the purpose of receiving the wires. Before being so bored and rounded, these dowels have their ends straight, and if such a dowel is fed for- 1 wardly and reaches the wiring mechanism, it is, of course, impossible to have the wire aliixed, and consequently the machine is apt to be damaged. Accordingly, I provide one or more stops, one stop being shown at 35,

which consists of a lug or pin set in the channel, formed by the periphery of the plate 9 and the walls of the hopper, which pin does not project high enough to be engaged by the arms 12. The rounded and bored dowels will readily ride over the pin 35 and be pressed onwardly to the channel and to the stack, while an imperfect 0r unprepared dowel with square ends will be caught by the pin '35 and held there until removed by the attendant, the arms 12 of course yielding as they pass by the dowel so caught. I have also provided a plurality '.-of holes 36 through the wall of the hopper 4 at its lowermost portion, in order to prevent dust, dirt, etc., from accumulating in the hopper. 7

It will thus be seen that I have provided a simple and efficient mechanism for automatically feeding dowels and the like to a machine which must receive such dowels one at a time, for a subsequent operation; that my improved apparatus utilizes yielding means to feed the dowels forwardly; that the dowels are so fed in a lengthwise or end to-end formation; that each dowel is successively and positively moved into the stack and does not depend upon gravity to fill said stack; that yielding means areprovided to automatically yield for any obstruction, etc., and also that means is provided to prevent imperfect dowels from being fed by the machine.

The advantage of having such a feeding mechanism work evenly, uniformly and permitting a high speed in its operation is Copies of this patent may be obtained tor five cents each, by addressing Washington, D. G.

of the utmost importance, as "unless the Patent is: v p

1. In an apparatus of the kind described, 7

a hopper to contain dowels loosely, automatic means to assemble said dowels in the hopper in end to end formation, comprising a' rotating plate of less diameter than that of the bottom of the hopper and spaced 7 v therefrom to form a circular raceway within said hopper, and a plurality of yielding arms carried by the under side of said plate arranged to feed the dowels said raceway from the hopper.

2. In an apparatus of the kind described,

a hopper to contain dowels, a circular channel in said hopper of substantially equal width to the width .ofsaid dowels extending V entirely around the bottom of the hopper, and yielding means to feed thedowels lengthwise along said channel, and a guideway depressed below the level of said channel to permit said dowels to be fed out of the hopper. I

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDMUND CURRAN.

Witnesses:

JAMES R.. HonDER, R. G. HnRsEY.

the Commissioner of Patents, 7 

